The Central government has restored commercial LPG supplies to pre-crisis levels after reviewing the temporary restrictions imposed during the recent West Asia crisis. The decision was communicated by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas through an official letter issued to all State and Union Territory Chief Secretaries.
According to the ministry, all sectoral restrictions on the supply of Non-Domestic Packed LPG have been withdrawn with immediate effect, allowing commercial LPG supplies to return to normal levels. The government also announced that restrictions on the supply of bulk LPG have been relaxed, permitting restoration of supplies up to 50 per cent of pre-crisis consumption levels.
The temporary curbs had been introduced to ensure uninterrupted availability of domestic LPG for household consumers during supply disruptions arising from the West Asia crisis. With the supply situation improving, the ministry has now decided to ease the restrictions for commercial and industrial consumers.
The ministry, however, clarified that commercial and industrial consumer data must continue to be maintained by Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs), with a unified sector-wide database to be shared among the three OMCs.
The government has also reiterated its policy regarding consumers who have access to Piped Natural Gas (PNG). Commercial and bulk consumers who have already shifted to PNG will continue to remain on the network. Those who have access to PNG or are in the process of connecting to local PNG networks will be permanently transitioned to the cleaner fuel in coordination with City Gas Distribution (CGD) entities.
The ministry further stated that a reporting mechanism will be shared with Oil Marketing Companies and CGD entities for submitting implementation updates to the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.
The latest decision restores commercial LPG availability while maintaining the government's long-term objective of promoting wider adoption of PNG wherever pipeline infrastructure is available.
